50 Fun Facts About New York Islanders

In what year did the Islanders play their first NHL season?

Atlanta's Flames arrived at the same time to keep the schedule balanced.

The Islanders were created largely to keep which rival league's team out of Nassau Coliseum?

The WHA's New York Raiders ended up at Madison Square Garden and later fled to Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

Many expected the new Nassau County team to borrow the name of which defunct Eastern Hockey League club?

The Ducks were an Eastern Hockey League club that played from 1959 to 1973.

Which songwriter owned the restaurant where the Islanders' name was unveiled in February 1972?

The press conference was held across the street from Roosevelt Raceway.

Which general manager, known as 'The Architect', built the Islanders through the draft from 1972?

His banner in the rafters carries his trademark bowtie instead of a number.

Which record did the 1972-73 expansion Islanders set with a 12-60-6 mark?

They still beat the defending-champion Bruins 9-7 that January.

Which Montreal GM tried and failed to pry the 1973 first-overall pick from Torrey to draft Denis Potvin?

Potvin, hyped as 'the next Bobby Orr' at 14, won the Calder Trophy in 1974.

Al Arbour came to coach the Islanders in 1973 from which NHL club?

He would coach 1,500 games for the Isles, the last one on a one-day contract in 2007.

In 1975 the Islanders became only the second team to win a series from 3-0 down, against which opponent?

Ed Westfall scored the late Game 7 winner; the 1942 Maple Leafs were the first to do it.

Bryan Trottier's 95 points in 1975-76 set a rookie record and won him which award?

His 63 assists were also a rookie record at the time.

Al Arbour talked Torrey into drafting Mike Bossy over Dwight Foster in 1977 with what argument?

Twelve teams passed on Bossy, including the Rangers and Maple Leafs twice each.

Which trade before the 1980 playoffs is often called the 'final piece of the puzzle'?

Billy Harris and Dave Lewis went to the Kings for the second-line center.

Whose overtime goal in Game 6 of the 1980 Final delivered Long Island's first Stanley Cup?

It came at 7:11 of overtime against the Flyers, who had gone unbeaten in 35 straight regular-season games.

Which two players made the 1980 Islanders the first Cup winner with Europeans on the roster?

Both were Swedes; Ken Morrow arrived that spring fresh from the Miracle on Ice.

Which taunt did Islanders fans start during a 1981 sweep of the Rangers that spread across the league?

It referred to the Rangers' last Cup; they finally ended the drought in 1994.

Whom did the Islanders beat in the 1982 Final, the first coast-to-coast Stanley Cup Final?

Bossy scored the clincher while falling parallel to the ice and won the Conn Smythe.

Which goalie won the Conn Smythe after shutting down Gretzky's Oilers in the 1983 Final sweep?

Gretzky did not score a goal in the series, and the Oilers later said seeing the exhausted champions taught them what winning took.

How many consecutive playoff series did the Islanders win from 1980 to 1984, a record in pro sports?

It edges the Boston Celtics' 18 from 1959-67, and each Islander Cup required four series wins.

The Islanders' 1984 'Drive for Five' ended in the Final against which team?

Rookie Pat LaFontaine scored twice in 38 seconds in the last game, but the Oilers began their own dynasty.

How many shots did Kelly Hrudey stop in the 1987 'Easter Epic' before Pat LaFontaine ended it?

The winner came at 1:56 a.m. on Easter Sunday morning against the Capitals.

Which centre came to the Islanders in the 1991 trade that sent Pat LaFontaine to Buffalo?

Benoit Hogue, Uwe Krupp and Dave McLlwain came too; Turgeon later won the Lady Byng.

Which Capitals player drew a then-record 21-game suspension for a 1993 hit on the Islanders' star center?

Turgeon separated his shoulder seconds after scoring an insurance goal in the series clincher.

Whose overtime goal in Game 7 eliminated the two-time defending champion Penguins in 1993?

Newsday's front page read 'It's a Miracle!' over a picture of goalie Glenn Healy.

Rangers fans mocked the 1995 fisherman logo with which chant?

The logo resembled the Gorton's fisherman and was dropped as soon as league rules allowed.

Which shoulder patch appeared on the fisherman-era jerseys?

It referenced the Montauk Lighthouse; the striping was meant to look like ocean waves.

Fraudster John Spano briefly 'bought' the Islanders in 1996 from which long-time owner?

Spano got 71 months in prison; the saga became the ESPN 30 for 30 film 'Big Shot'.

Which two future stars did Mike Milbury trade to Florida in 2000 for Oleg Kvasha and Mark Parrish?

He then took Rick DiPietro first overall ahead of Dany Heatley and Marian Gaborik.

Which defenseman went to Ottawa in the 2001 deal that brought Alexei Yashin to Long Island?

The Islanders also gave up the second overall pick in the 2001 draft.

Rick DiPietro's 2006 contract ran for how many years?

At $67.5 million it was believed to be the longest in NHL history at the time.

Which backup goalie retired in 2006 to become the Islanders' general manager?

He replaced Neil Smith, who lasted roughly a month in the job.

Al Arbour signed a one-day contract in 2007 to reach what coaching milestone with the Islanders?

The Isles beat Pittsburgh 3-2 that night, giving him 740 career wins.

Whom did the Islanders take first overall in the 2009 draft?

He became the club's 14th captain in 2013 and left for Toronto as a free agent in 2018.

A 2011 brawl with the Penguins produced how many combined penalty minutes?

The Islanders were fined $100,000 for 'failure to control their players'.

Which arena did the Islanders move to for the 2015-16 season after leaving Nassau Coliseum?

Obstructed views and an off-center scoreboard made it an unpopular hockey venue.

Which sixth-round pick in 2015 became the first Chinese player drafted by an NHL team?

The same draft brought Mathew Barzal and Anthony Beauvillier after day-of trades.

Which opponent did the Islanders beat in 2016 for their first playoff series win since 1993?

Tavares scored the clincher in double overtime after Alan Quine's Game 5 double-OT winner.

Mathew Barzal's 85-point 2017-18 season made him the first Islander to win the Calder Trophy since whom?

Barzal drew 160 of 164 first-place votes and tied Trottier's franchise record for rookie assists.

Which coach joined the Islanders in 2018 a month after winning the Stanley Cup with Washington?

Lou Lamoriello arrived the same summer with 'full authority over all hockey matters'.

In the 2020 bubble playoffs, the Islanders reached the conference finals for the first time since which year?

They beat Florida, Washington and Philadelphia before losing to Tampa Bay in six.

Fans nickname UBS Arena 'The Stable' because it sits beside what?

Belmont Park hosts the Belmont Stakes; the arena opened in 2021.

Which former Devils captain scored the game-winner in the Islanders' first victory at UBS Arena?

Fittingly, the 4-2 win on December 11, 2021, came against New Jersey.

Which Hall of Fame goaltender was hired as Islanders head coach in January 2024?

He was fired with four games left in the 2025-26 season and replaced by Peter DeBoer.

Whom did the Islanders select first overall in 2025 after winning the lottery with the 10th-best odds?

It was their first top pick since Tavares in 2009; new GM Mathieu Darche also traded Noah Dobson to Montreal.

What do the orange stripes on the hockey stick in the modern Islanders logo represent?

The original 1972 logo by John Alogna had three stripes; the fourth was added in 2008-09.

Which Maple Leafs mascot was 'revealed' as the kidnapper of Islanders mascot Nyisles in 1998?

Nyisles returned in 2022 alongside the reverse-retro fisherman jerseys; Sparky the Dragon is the main mascot.

Mike Bossy scored 50 goals in 50 games in 1981, becoming the first to do so since which player?

It came 36 years after the Rocket, and Bossy also shares the record of nine 50-goal seasons with Gretzky and Ovechkin.

Bossy's top line with Trottier and Clark Gillies was known by what nickname?

Bossy replaced Billy Harris on the unit and scored 53 goals as a rookie.

Which sportsmanship award did Mike Bossy win three times?

He led the NHL in goals twice and finished second three more times.

Which clothing manufacturer, owner of the ABA's New York Nets, was awarded the Islanders franchise in 1971?

The NHL granted the Long Island franchise on November 8, 1971, only two years after expanding to 14 teams.

What is the name of the Islanders' dragon mascot, once shared with the Arena Football League's New York Dragons?

Both teams played at Nassau Coliseum; in the mid-1990s the team had used a different mascot, Nyisles.